The Marketing Mix | official blog of the Marketing Mentor community

27 trade associations to network with (and counting)

Here's one cool way to use Tadalist (which we told you about a couple months back) to keep track of your prospects' trade associations and networking events.

Julie Vail of Marquis Design, a Boston-based Marketing Mentor client who specializes in branding and special event design, researched her market and put together this list of 27 groups where she can find (and meet) her prospects.

Now her calendar for the next couple of months is full of networking.

If you can add to the list, go ahead and do so.

Guest Post: Jump-starting ideas

Today's guest post comes from Peter Levinson, owner of LevinsonBlock LLC, a graphic design firm that has specialized in entrepreneurial non profits for over 20 years. It's a great, FUN hack for restarting the idea machine when it gets stuck in low gear.

I was designing a gala invitation concept for one of my clients. Not my favorite kind of project -- no real concept, horrible photos, and, of course, it needed to happen yesterday.

I had spent the previous afternoon at my desk trying to hammer out something, anything that could work. I looked at my scribbles the next morning -- there wasn't a winner in the bunch. I was stuck.

What to do? Road trip -- NYC style! I grabbed a pen and a notebook and hopped on the subway. On off-hours it is like a strange fluorescent-lit library. The rhythm of the rails focuses and relaxes me -- and it helps to be away from email and phone calls. An hour later I exit the train with workable concepts.

What do you think? Share your methods for getting un-stuck.

Visit LevinsonBlock's website here, or check out their newsletter archives here.

Are early-risers better networkers?

Yesterday, I was talking with a client about a networking event she didn't want to attend because it's at 7 AM.

Of course, I can't force her to get up early and go, but I pointed out that, from my experience, the people one meets at a breakfast event at 7 AM are quite different from the people one meets at a cocktail hour at 6 PM. I find early-risers to be more productive, more ambitious and sometimes even more valuable networking buddies.

What do you think?

Find your target market faster

Here's another great resource I found online while searching for a client's target market -- this site offers a Directory of Associations by state.

They seem to be selling the data, but it's also provided on the site. So if you're looking for a group to network with locally, see if there's a group listed here that brings your prospects together in real time.

Any other list sources you've found recently and want to share?

Let people know when you'll respond

I've been working with clients a lot lately on time management issues -- specifically, how to make sure they don't waste the day answering email and not get to the priorities: work and marketing activities (IMHO).

One solution we have come up with is to schedule specific times of the day to "do email," but that only works if you stick to the schedule, which is often challenging for people who have "trouble" with structure and discipline (two essentials for running a successful business, BTW).

One way to help you stick to it is to tell other people what you're doing, so you have witnesses and accountability.

That's what Garlin Gilchrist II has done.

Here's the autoresponder message sent to everyone who sends him an email message:

Subject line: Garlin will respond at 11 AM PDT.
Hello, and thanks for contacting me.

I check and respond to email daily at 1100 AM Pacific. If your message is an FYI or does not ask a question, please do not expect a response. If it contains a specific question or request, I will respond at 1100 AM Pacific the next day.

If you truly have an urgent need or request that can't wait until 11 AM the following day, call me at (###) 555-1212.

Thanks!
Garlin Gilchrist II
The SuperSpade: Black Thought at the Highest Level.
http://www.TheSuperSpade.com

Activist Nerd: http://activistnerd.com

Here's a link to his blog post on where this idea came from and how it's working for him.

What would happen if you tried this technique?

Jott it down over the holiday

Yes, you're taking a day off (at least, most of you are).

But you know damn well your brain never shuts down. And sometimes it comes up with ideas in the oddest places.

So bring a trusty (tiny) notebook and pen along to the BBQ. And/or program Jott into your phone. It's a free service that lets you dial a toll-free number and leave your message, which Jott then converts to text and emails to you! I have it programmed into one of my speed-dial numbers for E-Z retrieval. It doesn't get the whole message right, but there's enough that I can make sense of it when I'm near a real capture device.

Have a safe and happy holiday, and we'll see you on the 5th!

For better networking, put people to work

I've gotten really interested in exploring the way people use handwritten notes, which you may have noticed here on the blog. So much so that I've been interviewing people about how and why they use handwritten notes as part of their marketing mix.

So last night at a networking event, it only felt natural to bring up the topic with the people I met, and spring the same question on each of them.

Presto! Instant conversation, whether they were pro or con. Plus it was a great way to solicit business cards from people without being a tool: "May I have your card to follow up if I have more questions as I research this topic?"

Anyone else tried this?

What you can learn from the IT department

There's a protocol at IT help desks for answering every call for help with computer difficulties that goes something like this:

1. "Is the machine plugged into the wall?" If "yes"...
2. "Is the machine--and something else plugged into the same outlet--receiving power?" If "yes"...
3. "Is the machine turned on?"

I wrote up a long version of the story that precipitated this post on my own blog (go here to read it), but the short of this is both a simple lesson and a lesson in simplicity:

When in doubt, try the simplest thing first.

You can bring in the heavy artillery later on if the situation warrants it: costly and/or time-consuming solutions like specialists, complex systems, learning a new skill, etc. But before you do, maybe take a breath and see what the first, simplest thing you could do is.

Big goals come in small increments

One of the things I've learned about grand, sweeping goals is that they're best served by a series of small, worker-bee-type goals.

So if, heading into the fourth week of the new year, the bloom is somewhat off the rose where your big resolutions are concerned, maybe you can try applying yourself to a small one or two. Or, as so many motivational gurus and organizational experts put it, what one small thing can you do today—right now, even—that will bring you closer to your overarching goal?

Me? I'm writing this one little blog post, which is a drop in the bucket compared to that big, scary Book Project of 2007 that threatens to consume me.

(Seriously—what are you doing? I'd love to hear if and how people are breaking big goals down into digestible chunks...)

How to beef up your resume without lying

Most entrepreneurs don't bother much with résumés—one of the perks of working for yourself, after all, is that you don't have to look for a job. (Instead, you have to look for lots and lots of jobs!)

But it never hurts to refresh your résumé once per year, if for no other reason than to keep track of where you've been and come up with fresh language about where you are now.

So when my self-employed pal, Neil, sent along this link from LifeClever, I thought I should share. It lists some commonsense ways to make your résumé more attractive without the benefit of a graphic designer.

Of course, those of you who haven't made the leap to self-employment and want to keep market-ready might benefit from this even more directly!